As part of the government’s continuing disaster response efforts, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Wednesday said the agency is ready to provide cash assistance to eligible families affected by the combined effects of the southwest monsoon or “habagat” and Severe Tropical Storm Crising (international name Wipha).
In a radio interview, Gatchalian underscored the importance of providing additional support to meet the evolving needs of disaster-stricken families.
“Lagi rin sinasabi ng Pangulo, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., hindi lahat ng pangangailangan ng isang pamilya ay matatagpuan mo doon sa kahon na yun. Kasi [may iba pang pangangailangan] may gamot, may gatas, iba-iba (As President Marcos always says, not everything needed by a family can be found in that box. They also need medicine, milk, and others),” he said, referring to the DSWD’s family food packs (FFPs).
According to the DSWD chief, cash assistance is essential to families whose homes or livelihoods were damaged and who need help with rebuilding or purchasing items not covered by the FFPs.
“After a couple of days in the evacuation center at uuwi na sila at na-analyze ng mga local government units (LGUs) or ng ating mga provincial government na may problema na kailangan pang i-rehabilitate or pang rebuild, doon naman papasok ang DSWD (and they are going home, and the LGUs or provincial government assessed that they also needed interventions for rehabilitation or rebuilding, that’s where the DSWD comes in) for cash assistance,” he said.
Gatchalian said the DSWD has already identified several low-lying and flood-prone communities that will be provided with cash aid under the agency’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) and the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP).
Alongside the financial assistance, the DSWD continues to provide FFPs to affected communities.
Production of FFPs at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City and at the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Mandaue City, Cebu province is continuous to maintain a steady supply.
As of Wednesday, Gatchalian said the agency has distributed over 200,000 FFPs to the affected families.
He said the FFPs have not only reached more than 34,000 families inside evacuation centers, but also those assisted by LGUs in house-to-house relief operations.
The DSWD chief said they expect the number of dispatched FFPs to soar to more than 300,000 as the agency continues to process the requests for relief augmentation of disaster-stricken LGUs.
Aside from the 200,000 FFPs, the agency has also delivered ready-to-eat food (RTEF) boxes, the latest addition to the agency’s relief supplies.
The RTEF is actively tapped in relief operations, particularly in port areas for stranded passengers, and as initial aid to evacuees while community kitchens in temporary shelters have yet to be set up.
In Central Luzon, the Mobile Kitchen of the DSWD is upscaling the LGUs’ capacities to provide hot meals to families inside evacuation centers.
“Umaandar tayo 365 days, kasi hindi lang bagyo ang binabantayan natin. Sa ilalim nga ng programa natin na Buong Bansa Handa, 3 million ang naka-preposition sa mga kulang-kulang na 1,000 warehouses natin nationwide. So, pag tumama kung saan man, sabay sabay kailangan kumikilos ang Field Offices natin, nakakagalaw tayo ng mabilis (We are operating 365 days a year because it’s not only storms that we are preparing for. Under the Buong Bansa Handa program, we have 3 million FFPs prepositioned in almost a thousand warehouses nationwide. So, wherever the disaster hits, our field offices can move in synchrony, we can act fast),” Gatchalian said. (PNA)